North America & Pelican Nebulae

The North America Nebula and the nearby Pelican Nebula are part of the same vast interstellar cloud of ionized hydrogen. This nebulous complex forms the illuminated region of the large system of gas and dust known as the Cygnus Rift, which is clearly visible because it completely obscures the light of the stars located beyond it. In 2020, the distances of these nebulae were fixed with unprecedented precision, after the astrometric satellite Gaia measured the precise distances of 395 stars that lie within the region. The data show that the North America and Pelican Nebulae are located 2,590 light-years apart. The entire region is therefore 140 light-years wide and the North America Nebula extends for 90 light-years from north to south.

Processing performed with PixInsight, PaintShop.